Is My Six-month Old Hypertonic

Your doctor is probably being overly cautious because hypertonicity in infants is linked to neurological problems. One of these problems, hyperekplexia, can cause SIDS if left untreated. I haven't been in this situation, but from the little I know it might be worth getting the EEG just to be safe. They won't be injecting your child with chemicals or anything; they just put sensors on to measure brain activity and there aren't any side effects. The hard part will be keeping a six-month-old awake from 5-10am...

Hi M.,

It sounds to me like you have some concerns, so why not reassure yourself? A EEG is very non invasive so don't worry about that. If there were an issue to be concerned about it would be better to find out sooner than later. Best Wishes.

J. L.

My daughter is 6 months old also, our second child. She does exactly the same things as yours. It has never occured to me that there could be anything wrong with this. I would talk to your doctor again and ask what the possible outcomes of this test (these tests? Anything ese planned?) is and what any further steps would be.

What exactly are they looking for in the EEG? And what would they do if they found whatever they may be looking for? And what would happen if your daughter was hypertonic and you would not do anything about it? What does it mean to be "hypertonic"? I think you need answers to these questions.

I think your doctor may just be reacting with suggesting these tests to calm you. He/she may have thought no further. But ask her/him if you are unsure. To me it sounds as if everything is fine and the testing is superfluous.

Good luck!
D.

My son had an EEG. It is not a big deal. It is very non-invasive. The worst part is sticking the probes on her head and trying to get her to fall asleep. Or I should say, unsticking them when the test is over. but, Not a big deal!!!! My son had a lot of hair too and it was still fine. Go with it and ease your mind. Don't waste your energy worrying about something that might not be there. Find out! It will not cause her any harm to do the test.
Good Luck
Sue

Hi there. My 9 mos old DD does this crazy kicking thing too and even does it IN her sleep! I had her checked by our pedi as well, and she said everything looked normal.
Maybe get a second opinion? Can you video tape it so your dcotor can see what she does? My doc asked us to do that just to be sure.
Just a suggestion!
GOOD luck!

Hi,

My daughter is 14 months old and we are having a similiar behavioral experience with her. My daughter also stiffens when in certin situations. It began for us sometime after 6 months old. My husband and I first started to notice this when we put her in the car seat. She would stiffen. Her hands & legs would be straight out and she would make a weird face. This continued and we would really stress about taking her anywhere in the car. At our year appointment our pediatrician road in the car with us and observed our daughters movements. Her first comments were the movements were not life threatening but definitely abnormal. So, she suggested we see a neurologist. I was really nervous about this appointment to say the least.After her exam and showing the neurologist several video's of our daughter doing this she said she believes this is something called a Binign movement. And she will grow out of it anywhere from 2 months to 2 years. She told us children do some unexplained things but what our daughter is doing isn't related to any disease or condition. We are going back for a follow up visit in November. She said we could do a EEG if we wanted but she really didn't think we needed too or reccommended it. She said the test can give alot of false-positives.
Anyway,my husband and I have our own theory. Which is our daughter does this in situations ( like the car) because she doesn't like it and this is the way her body expresses that. We don't think she likes being strapped in something. The stiffening was happening in her stroller too so we decided to just use the belt strap instead of the sholder harness. And now no more stiffening. She loves her stoller again.
It doesn't hurt to meet with a neurologist but I agree that an EEG is something you should wait on. Your daughter may grow out of this as she gets older.
Hope my story helps. K. :-)

M.,
I am not an expert and no nothing about neurology but I can tell you my 4 month daughter does the same thing with her legs. I also can tell you that if my Dr that that doing an EEG on my baby I would go get a 2nd or 3rd opion. You are he mother and your gut will tell you what is right to do! Good luck with keeping a 6 month old up from 5 am till 10 am (that does not seem at all natural)

Hi M., I am a pediatric PT working in Early Intervention. There are certainly different causes for the behavior/movement you are describing, ranging from a way to communicate as one person responded, to neurological issues. I see children who do this type of stiffening when they have low muscle tone too as a way to compensate. An EEG is non invasive, though a pain sometimes to keep the child up. A neurologist certainly would be a logical step for your doctor to suggest especially since he too noticed the stiffness. It may just rule out any more significant issues. An Early Intervention referral is also a possibility you could pursue. We evaluate children in a team and then can recommend services if the child shows any motor skill needs. A child needs to qualify for EI services so your daughter could also be fine and not qualify as well. An EI clinician could confirm if they have concerns that a neurologist should evaluate. If a child has muscle tone issues out of the realm of normal I do suggest a visit to the neurologist. I hope these ideas are helpful. Good luck with your sweet daughter!
S.